Salmagundi
| Alternative names | Salmi |
|---|---|
| Type |
Salmagundi (alternatively salmagundy or sallid magundi) is a cold dish or
Etymology
There is debate over the sense and origin of the word.
History
Seventeenth century
Late in the seventeenth century, the name salmagundi was applied to the grand salads of large houses. These compound salads descended from medieval herb and flower salads. Raw salads, according to food historian C. Anne Wilson, 'had never come under the same sort of disapproval as fresh fruit, partly because so many salad plants were thought to have medicinal properties. Moreover, in a skilfully mixed salad, aromatic herbs noted for their warm, dry qualities, could counteract the coldness of other kinds, such as lettuce, purslane or endive'. During the reign of Elizabeth I fruits and vegetables and hard-boiled eggs were added to them.[6]
Eighteenth-century recipes
An early recipe for salmagundi comes from A Collection of Above Three Hundred Receipts in Cookery, Physick, and Surgery: For the Use of All Good Wives, Tender Mothers, and Careful Nurses by Mary Kettiby (1734):
To make a Cold Hash, or Salad-Magundy. TAKE a cold Turkey, two cold Chickens, or, if you have neither, a piece of fine white Veal will do; cut the Breasts of these Fowls into fair dices, and Mince all the rest; to the Quantity of two Chickens you must take eight or ten large Anchovies, wash and bone them, eight large pickled Oysters, ten or twelve fine green pickled Cucumbers, shred the Oysters, the Anchovies, the Cucumbers, and one whole Lemon small, mix them with the shred Meat, lay it in the middle of the Dish, lay the Dices of the white part round the Dish, with halv'd Anchovies, whole pickled Oysters, quarter'd Cucumbers, sliced Lemon, whole pickled Mushrooms, Capers or any Pickle you like; cut also some fine Lettice, and lay round among the Garnish, but put not Oil and Vinegar to the Minced Meat, till it comes to Table.[7]
A later recipe for salmagundi from The Lady's Assistant for Regulating and Supplying Her Table by Charlotte Mason (1777) includes roasted chicken or roasted veal, boiled eggs, parsley, a herring, anchovies, beetroot and red cabbage. A saucer or china basin is placed in the middle of a dish and the ingredients are laid in rows, 'according to taste', the rows get narrower towards the top of the bowl. At the top butter."[8]
Quote
Salmagundi is more of a concept than a recipe. Essentially, it is a large composed salad that incorporates meat, seafood, cooked vegetables, raw vegetables, fruits, and nuts and is arranged in an elaborate way. Think of it as the British answer to
Salad Niçoise.—[9]
See also
- List of salads
- Colgate University, which uses Salmagundi as the title of the annual student yearbook[10]
- Solomon Gundy, a spicy Caribbean paste made of mashed, pickled herrings, peppers and onions. In Jamaica, the term refers more specifically to a dish made of salt herring and spices.[11]
References
- ^ )
- ^ Claiborne, Craig (January 16, 1978). "The 'Salmagundi' Debate Continues; A Cold Salad Another Source"". The New York Times.
- ^ "The Free Dictionary". Farlex, Inc. 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
- ^ ]
- ISBN 9781598842012. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
- OCLC 859209.
- ^ Kettilby, Mary (1734). A collection of above three hundred receipts in cookery, physick, and surgery: for the use of all good wives, tender mothers, and careful nurses. London: London : Printed for the executrix of Mary Kettilby, and sold by W. Parker ... pp. 204–205. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
- ^ Mason, Charlotte (16 July 2022). "The Lady's Assistant 1777". Foods of England. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ Oland, Sydney (April 24, 2013). "Salmagundi Recipe". Serious Eats. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ "Colgate University Student Yearbooks". colgate.edu. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ISBN 978-962-593-401-3, p. 123
Sources
- Richard Mabey, Food for Free – A guide to the edible wild plants of Britain. 1972.